This fall, junior volleyball players Kayly Elmer and Katrina Racibarskas have teamed up off the court to fill Leopard fans in on the 2009 volleyball season. They will take readers from preseason to key conference match-ups while also giving the inside scoop on roadtrips, their teammates and more. Be sure to check GoLeopards.com all season to get your fill of Lafayette Volleyball!

After an exciting win at St. Francis, we entered our home-opening tournament with high expectations for the weekend. The tournament got off to a bit of a rough start with a loss to St. Peter's on Friday night, but we bounced back on Saturday with two wins. The first match was against Delaware State. It was a very emotional and exciting match for all of us, and the best competition we had seen so far. We won the match in four games.

The second match we saw one of our rivals, FDU. We set out to win and finished the match in three games. Our success on Saturday put us in a positive mindset for the upcoming events that evening.

Immediately following the last match, the team met on the third floor of Kirby Sports Complex for our first social. Commonly after home tournaments, we have socials where players' families and friends are welcome for mingling and food. It's a fun time to get to know each other's relatives and enjoy good food. The team loves the socials! After we went around the room and introduced ourselves, and any family members, friends, or recruits it was a mad rush to the food table. The first round always includes pasta, salad, garlic bread, and other delicious snacks that our families have kindly brought along. After we are done with the first course, we all scramble to the dessert table, which is stocked with cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and other delicious desserts. The team loves the socials!

Overall, we feel pretty good about our play this weekend and we look forward to our next match against Coppin State.

Lafayette Athletics, as a partner in the mission of the College, provides and incredibly effective
learning experience for student-athletes through competitive NCAA Division I
athletics. Lafayette sponsors 23 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes.